Re:Prosecutors Have Prepared Indictment of Julian Assange, a...
by rndgermandude on Friday November 16, 2018 @05:44AM
(#18467878)
>I really doubt WikiLeaks publishing stealing information falls under the definition of US constitution of free speech.
It actually is legal to publish stolen information, and there is a lot of legal precedent in the US saying it is.
And that's a good thing as it is sometimes the only way to hold those in power accountable for their actions they'd otherwise hide. See e.g. Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra, US torture program, Snowden, Panama papers, just to name a few, all of which were at least in part based on leaked (read: stolen) information.
Also the Trump administration is leaking like a sieve these days. Do you consider the journalists who publish such information criminals too?
This is legally different to stealing the information yourself and/or instructing somebody else on how to steal information. I'd wager they'll at least try to pin the latter on Assange if they ever get him in a court.
It actually is legal to publish stolen information, and there is a lot of legal precedent in the US saying it is. And that's a good thing as it is sometimes the only way to hold those in power accountable for their actions they'd otherwise hide. See e.g. Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra, US torture program, Snowden, Panama papers, just to name a few, all of which were at least in part based on leaked (read: stolen) information. Also the Trump administration is leaking like a sieve these days. Do you consider the journalists who publish such information criminals too?
This is legally different to stealing the information yourself and/or instructing somebody else on how to steal information. I'd wager they'll at least try to pin the latter on Assange if they ever get him in a court.